Page 63 of The Voice of Wild Places
Cornelius looked at him strangely, but Severino was already nodding.“Okay,” he said, then patted Cornelius gently on the shoulder.“Okay.”
They ate a cold dinner of dried out peccary and beans, and Watt gave Maggie the last can of Ken-L ration he had.From now on, they'd be sharing meals.Cornelius took the first watch, same as he usually did.Watt readied himself for the night, distracted by the sound of Cornelius rinsing his hands using his canteen.He fought a strange urge to turn around and watch the blood clinging to the man’s fingertips rinse into the dirt and grass.It stirred a part of him he didn’t understand, and as with most things of that nature, he locked that curiosity deep within his heart, and threw away the key.
The next morning, Watt woke with a gentle nudge to the ribs.He flinched awake, reaching for his knife.A hand settled on his hammock to keep him from flipping, and Cornelius muttered, “Oh, fuck off,” which settled Watt.
“What's wrong?”Watt asked blearily, rubbing at his eyes.
A small weight fell onto Watt's stomach and he immediately sat upwards, eyes flashing open.Cornelius held fast to his hammock so he didn't tip, fully dressed in a less dirty change of clothes, his combed hair damp and slightly tame.He stood over Watt and gave him a quick, tight smile.“Happy Birthday.Don't take too long, o patrão wants to get going.”
A laugh disguised as protest emerged from somewhere behind Cornelius, and then Severino poked his head around Cornelius.“Do I get no credit for letting him sleep in for twenty minutes?”Severino grinned at Watt, bright eyed despite the fact the sun was barely above the horizon.“Feliz Aniversário, Watt.”He stepped around Cornelius and dropped a stone with a thin middle which smoothly tapered to thick edges, the shape impossible.He tugged at Watt's ear, then went on his way to wake Antônio before Watt could say thank you.
Cornelius rolled his eyes, but gave Watt another smile that was less tense this time.
“Thank you,” Watt said, his voice hoarse from sleep and emotion.He placed a hand over the gift, holding it against his sternum."You didn't have to give me anything."
Cornelius contemplated him, then quietly said, “I know.”He turned away to start packing his things, leaving Watt with the mysterious package on his chest.He rubbed at the grit, or more likely bugs, irritating his eyes.Maggie stretched on the ground beside him, sniffing upwards curiously.
“Hey, girl.No, this is for me, not you,” Watt murmured, reaching down to give her good morning pets.Maggie licked his face, and he chuckled.Watt meticulously untied a length of twine which secured roughly folded paper flaps, wondering when Cornelius had the time to do this.His pulse pounded in his throat, and he willed it to calm down.He was thirty three years old now, too old to be excited over something like a present.
It wasn't often someone remembered his birthday, let alone gave him a gift.The last time anyone had made a big deal about it was in the barracks, and most of those men were gone now.It had been an exhilarating feeling, to be celebrated.To be known.And at that age, he knew himself too, or thought he did.But he wouldn't want to be twenty one again.He'd rather be thirty one, as bad as those years were, sweating and aching and finding out who he truly was, what he truly believed in.
Watt's breath caught when he found nestled within the thick brown paper a few vague rectangular shapes wrapped in thin and delicate golden yellow tissue paper.Shoestring leather was tied around the belly of each object to keep the tissue paper in place, and a small blank white card was tucked beneath the brown cord of the largest object.Watt withdrew the card and flipped it over, revealing Cornelius' handwriting.
'Happy Birthday, Watt.I hope we find what you're looking for, and this will help you capture the full beauty of it all.'
Watt swallowed against the lump building in his throat and glanced up, but Cornelius was not in immediate sight.He treated the beautiful yellow paper with as much care as he did the brown paper, and after a minute or so he was presented with three items.First was a sketchpad, spiral bound with a black covering Watt guessed was cotton, but the raised texture threw him off.There were no distinguishable markings, no branding.It was plain, but well made and durable.Small enough to fit in his pocket, but only just.Watt ran his thumb over the edges of medium weight paper, noting the off white color.Enough to last him a good while, if he was careful.The sketchbook he had now was painfully full, there were only two pages left which he'd been saving for the site.
The second item was a hefty box of pencils.Regular pencils, not mechanical ones or something designed especially for artists.They were just like the ones Watt had, yellow with a square lead.They were all he cared to use, and had said so in passing one day when Cornelius asked about it.When had the been … São Paulo?Watt smiled, and set them aside with the sketchpad.
Last was a black lacquered tin, a bit larger than a pencil case.There were some scratches along the bottom, and the corners of the tin were worn as well.The lid had four equally sized square domes.Watt opened the lid, revealing a metal plate on a hinge.A paper sticker on the plate proclaimed the object to be Windsor & Newton, made in England.He folded the plate back, revealing a palette of watercolors in the bottom of the tin.Three rows, two of which were entirely full while the middle was only half full.Twenty six colors in all, with a small area set aside for brushes.There were two, one with a fine tip and another that was slightly thicker.Watt touched the hairs of the fine brush, then his fingers wandered to the small squares that beheld dry pools of color.
He sat there, staring down at the gifts in his lap.Long enough to blink away the tears pricking his eyes, and swallow the hot emotion congesting his throat.
When Watt finally prepared for the day and joined the others for breakfast, he found himself unable to stop smiling.Severino had a breakfast of condensed milk, papaya, and oats, waiting for him.He took one look at Watt, then grinned.He elbowed Cornelius, then nodded to Watt.“Hey, what'd you give him?”
Cornelius frowned at Severino, then looked hesitantly at Watt.Upon seeing his face, he scowled at Watt.“Are you ready to go?”
Watt closed the short distance between them and hugged Cornelius.He stiffened, but when Watt started to pull away Cornelius hugged him back with great force.Watt had to bend down to rest his chin on Cornelius' shoulder, but the ache in his spine was worth it.He whispered, “Thank you.”
Cornelius squeezed Watt once, then pulled back and dusted himself off.He flicked a quick look at Severino and Antônio who were eating together, then gave Watt a gentle shove.“Hurry up and eat so we can get going.”
At first Cornelius and Severino took the lead, but eventually Severino fell back with Antônio and Watt to check out his new gifts.Antônio was especially enamored with the watercolors, and Watt made a mental note to test them out with him later.Maggie trotted alongside Cornelius, and Watt was just starting to regain control of his smile when Cornelius looked back at him.Cornelius shook his head, which did nothing to hide his own escaped smile, and continued leading the way.
June 12th, 1930
Cornelius knew that when taking the word of an archaeologist, you had to accept it with a grain of salt for they were some of the most optimistic people around.Thankfully, Joaquim and Severino had not been exaggerating regarding the scale of their project.
Blisters plagued Cornelius’ feet, and his hip screamed in solidarity with his knee.Walking was a generous term for what he’d been doing, and his brain was ablaze with frustration and exhaustion.He took a guilty sort of comfort in the fact that he was not alone in his struggles.Watt's birthday had bought them a temporary reprieve from the foul mood they'd all been stewing in, but it was only that.Temporary.
Watt was exhausted.Completely, and utterly, exhausted.His eyes were bruised and swollen, and he was covered in bites.The bugs wouldn’t leave him alone no matter what precautions they took, and their insistence was taking their toll on his sanity.The infected bite under his arm was healing, but there were dozens of others vying to be next for infection.He hardly spoke, and when he did it was to the point.Yes, no.Maybe.Fuck off.That last one he’d said to Cornelius in the dead of night, when insomnia had brought them together and made Cornelius say ridiculous things which made Watt laugh even if he hadn't wanted to.Severino and Antônio were in better shape than either Watt or Cornelius, but they were exhausted and plagued by insects too.
They came upon the site at noon, drenched in sweat and flies.The unmistakable noise of humans preceded the sight, for there was an enormous hill to crest.Regardless of this last obstacle, Severino laughed hoarsely.“We’ve made it.”
Cornelius could have wept with relief, and he tried not to think too far ahead in fear of his body giving up its remaining adrenaline in anticipation of rest.Maggie panted heavily, and Cornelius’ own breath sawed in and out of him.Severino got a little ahead of them, while Antônio kept Cornelius and Watt company as they grappled with the incline.Antônio was constantly looking out for Cornelius, and it was becoming more difficult to be angry with him about it considering the number of times he kept Cornelius from falling.He'd even stopped telling Watt off, allowing his companions to fortify him.Without them, he surely would have curled up and died somewhere along the way.
The hill was steep, embedded with rocks and decorated with thick vegetation.There was a vague trail where the underbrush had been thinned, the path Severino had carved on the way out.Despite this, Severino still had to work at some new growth with his machete.By the time they reached the peak, Cornelius was about ready to fall backwards.Severino was already halfway down the other side, which was far more bare than what they’d climbed so far.It wasn’t quite a cliff, but sheer enough it would’ve been easy to lose your footing and crash all the way to the bottom.
Watt, Cornelius, and Antônio stood together, chests heaving as they watched Severino sprint ahead.It wasn't just simple relief from finding camp after so long in the wild.To Severino, this was a homecoming.This was where he belonged, deep in the jungle with other like minded people.With Joaquim, who Cornelius strongly suspected was a kindred spirit.
